Dragonfly Island Necklace Tutorial

Make a small hole in a bead backing material to allow for the button loop of the Czech glass copper and green round dragonfly button. Glue the button onto the bead backing. Make a ring of 4mm Fern Green faceted rounds around the button using the two-seed-bead backstitch.

Two-Seed-Bead Backstitch Tutorial

Cut 12 inches each of The BeadSmith soutache ornamental rayon braid in merlot, metallic copper and black. Add a dab of glue to the ends to prevent fraying. Place the ends of the soutache at the bottom center of the button, just below the dragonfly's tail. Bring your needle in front of the soutache.

Bring the needle through the three soutache braids and down through the bead backing.

Go back up through the bead backing after the next green bead in your backstitch. Bring your needle through the center groove of the soutache braids and through the bead backing. Repeat this step all the way around your focal until the soutache ends join.

Soutache with Cabochon Tutorial

Glue each soutache end to prevent fraying once more and then sew the ends together under the center of the focal.

Bring your needle up above the soutache ends. Add a 3.8x1mm Czech glass crystal Capri gold O bead to your thread, followed by a TOHO 11/0 bead round in metallic dark copper. Bring your needle back down through the O bead and sew in place over the soutache ends to hide them. Repeat this step two more times to completely conceal the ends.

Sew the 5mm Mystic Black round pearls around the soutache using the two-seed-bead backstitch.

Make a beaded edge with matte black beads from the Midnight Magic Designer Seed Bead Blend using the brick stitch technique.

Brick Stitch Edge Text Tutorial

Find the center of the focal at the top of the pendant. Bring your needle through the bead backing and through the second edge bead from the center.

Make a bail with five loops. For each loop, string on a random mix of ten matte black and jet Picasso beads from the Midnight Magic Blend, followed by three O beads and ten more matte black and jet Picasso beads.

Custom Beaded Bails Video Tutorial

Now you are going to embellish the edge of your focal with O beads. Bring your needle out through the second bead from the last loop in your beaded bail. Thread on an O bead, followed by a dark copper TOHO. Go back through the O bead and then back through the edge bead.

Repeat the last step until you reach the top of your focal.

Now you are going to create the strands of your necklace. Cut a length of jewelry wire approximately 25 inches long. Add 29 Midnight Magic seed beads to the center of the wire. On one end, add three O beads, followed by a 10mm Bordeaux coin pearl, three more O beads and 20 Midnight Magic seed beads. Repeat this pattern two times and then add 20 more Midnight Magic seed beads to the end of the wire. Make a mirror image of this pattern on the other end of the strand. Cut two more strands of wire and add a random pattern of Midnight Magic seed beads to each one. These strands should be the same length as your first strand.

Slide a sterling silver 3x3mm crimp tube over the ends of all three beaded strands and crimp them shut around the loop of a 2-inch antique copper-plated 20 gauge eye pin. Slide a Patricia Healey copper small end cap over the end of the eye pin.

Slide a Midnight Magic seed bead onto the eye pin, followed by a coin pearl and another Midnight magic seed bead. Make a wrapped loop at the end of the eye pin. Attach one half of the TierraCast 3/4-inch antique copper-plated pewter Anna's toggle clasp to the wrapped loop using two 8mm copper 18 gauge open jump rings. Slide the focal over the three bead strands and repeat steps fourteen and fifteen for the other side of the necklace.

List of Components:
Czech Glass Copper and Green Round Dragonfly Button (BTN-362, qty 1)
5000 4mm Faceted Round Fern Green (5000-FGN4, qty 35)
5810 5mm Round Pearl Mystic Black (5810-MBLACK5, qty 35)
Midnight Magic Designer Seed Bead Blend (ADB0007, qty 2)
3.8x1mm Czech Glass Crystal Capri Gold O Bead 8 gram Pack (BEADS-0425, qty 1)
TOHO Bead Round 11/0 Metallic Dark Copper (TBRD11-222, qty 1)
5860 10mm Coin Pearl Bordeaux (5860-BXP10, qty 8)
TierraCast 3/4-Inch Antique Copper-Plated Pewter Anna's Toggle and Clasp (CA-6160, qty 1)
Patricia Healey Copper Small End Cap (FIND-0756, qty 2)
8mm Copper 18 Gauge Open Jump Ring (FIND-1052, qty 4)
2-inch Antique Copper-Plated 20 Gauge Eyepin (BCA-EP20-22, qty 2)
Sterling Silver 3 x 3mm Crimp Tube (ss-crm5, qty 2)